The immune system profoundly restricts intratumor genetic heterogeneity

Abstract

Tumors develop under the selective pressure of the immune system. However, it remains critical to establish how the immune system affects the clonal heterogeneity of tumors that often display cell-to-cell variation in genetic alterations and antigenic expression. To address these questions, we introduced a multicolor barcoding strategy to study the growth of a MYC-driven B cell lymphoma harboring a large degree of intratumor genetic diversity. Using intravital imaging, we visualized that lymphoma subclones grow as patches of sessile cells in the bone marrow, creating a spatially compartmentalized architecture for tumor diversity. Using multicolor barcoding and whole-exome sequencing, we demonstrated that immune responses strongly restrict intratumor genomic diversity and favor clonal dominance, a process mediated by the selective elimination of more immunogenic cells and amplified by epitope spreading. Anti-PD-1 treatment also narrowed intratumor diversity. Our results provide direct evidence that immune pressure shapes the level of intratumor genetic heterogeneity and have important implications for the design of therapeutic strategies.